hypnobirthing?

[mooncake]

Hello,

A friend of mine is trying hypnobirthing (due in September), and my aunt who retired as a midwife earlier this year also mentioned it to me.

Just wondered if anyone around here has tried it and what they thought? Also when is a good time to start? I'm due at the end of the year..

Thanks!

[Lochie]

i'd also like to know any opinions on this as am considering it myself as an aid (not alternative) to pain relief - just generally want to feel relaxed.

Am a bit of a skeptic having listened to hypnobirthing CD with first child and not really taking it seriously. But since first child have found meditation really useful and so maybe will be more open now to hypnobirthing.

Is it just a fad or does it really work? (sorry to hijack thread mooncake!)

[Sicilia]

Hi there

I went to a hypnobirthing course last November for the birth of my baby in Feb. I have to say I found it really useful, particularly to help me keep calm as my baby was born at home (but was intended to be born in hospital!). It really helped me cope with little pain relief (TENS machine and some gas and air at the end).

I didn't use everything the course taught, but in particular the breathing and relaxation techniques were great. It did require a fair bit of practice though (used to listen to the CD last thing at night and always fell asleep half way through it so figured it must have done some good!). So my experience was definitely a positive one, but as with everything its probably not for everyone!

The course was based around the Marie Mongan book, but was adapted for a UK audience. Unfortunately I've given my book and CD to a friend otherwise you could have tried it out - maybe see if someone else can lend to you?

[mooncake]

that's okay - i don't mind! Just interested to hear directly from people's experiences and where they went for classes (or not as the case may be).

My aunt said she saw some really good results with it, and her practice decided to recommend that all their ladies take classes. They had a practitioner for 5 years, but she's based up in Yorkshire(!)

Hubby is extremely sceptical about these things. Personally, I can see how having the right frame of mind would help - also from giving bikram yoga a go last year and seeing how my body could suddenly do all sorts of things when I actually focused!

[Sicilia]

My other half was exactly the same! The course I went to was at St Thomas' hospital, and he reluctantly agreed to join me - he was still a bit sceptic by the time he left, but a total convert by the time I'd given birth! :)

[cmacnew]

We tried hypnobirthing (baby boy was born in May) and had a private class with Elle Dormer (http://www.elledormerhypnotherapy.co.uk/) who was LOVELY! She was just about to have her second baby so it was a bit rushed and we crammed 3 weeks into 2 sessions. I wanted to have some techniques to help deal with home birth and stay relaxed. I was pretty relaxed anyway and the labour was quite quick (6.5 hours) with baby born at home in the water. I am not sure to be honest whether I would have been any more or less relaxed without the hypnobirthing, but at the very least I used the breathing techniques and music to help me sleep whilst pregnant.

It really helped my hubbie who didn't know too much about childbirth before the course and was a total star and know it all by the time it came to NCT classes and the actual labour and birth.

I would say, if you are a highly strung person then anything you can do to help you relax would be useful during labour.

[Elliott]

Im also considering hypnobirthing but I'm confused what the difference is between hpnobirthing and natal hypnotherapy - anyone know??

I'm hoping to give it a try so if anyone has any cds that they no longer want/need please let me know!

x

[Belle]

I think that hypnobirthing is a registered trademark maybe - it's the Marie Mongan method anyway - I'm not sure of the differences between the approaches/methods though.

I haven't had my baby yet, so can't speak for how it helps with the birth, but I must say much of it made sense to me, and as someone said above, I have found it is useful for relaxing. I've had terrible travel sickness late in the pregnancy and have actually used some of the breathing techniques to calm myself down when feeling awful in the car, and it's helped a lot. Have also used the breathing when have had particularly bad growing pains/braxton hicks/whatever the hell those random pregnancy pains are, and that's been useful too.I didn't do the CDs or even the full hypnobirthing course, I did 3 sessions of hypnotherapy with Christine Neillands, who was fantastic - she also runs the hypnobirthing classes.

The marie mongan book is well worth a read - I don't agree with everything she says (I'm not quite on the 'birth should be painless/all intervention is bad' end of the spectrum) - but lots of interesting thoughts and case studies, including her own birth stories. And what I really liked about Christine is that she is realistic, but helped me to deal with my fears and look at birth in a different way.

[Hesmall1]

I used the Natal Hynotherapy CD and book and really benefitted. About 2 months before giving birth (round about the time we started antenatal classes) I started to get really, really fearful. A friend recommended the CD and I was really skeptical not really being into alternative therapies, but I decided to give it a try. I listened to the CD every evening before dinner and each time, got better and better at going into a state of deep relaxation. It got to the point that while I was still working, I looked forward to getting home to have a listen.

The ladies above are correct, it is helpful to get your partner on board so they are clued up on how to help you relax and what cues to give durnig labour. Fast forward to my birth experience, I used the 1, 2, 3 relax technique and towards the end, becuase my husband knew what my cues were, he was able to talk me through the last phase of labour. I know this sounds a bit strange, but it really worked for me. The booklet that comes with the CD is really straight forward, explains how it works, when to use, how often, etc... The NCT website does sell the book and CD as does Amazon. Happy to speak more about it if you would like.

Good luck,

Heidi

[Fidgetsmum]

I did it for both births - first birth not much use if I'm honest. But I had it specifically tailored to my own mental hangups for my second birth and it worked a treat. I'd always recommend it.

[Elliott]

Really useful to hear about your first hand experiences - thanks for that ladies. I'm definately going to give it a bash...nothing to lose, right :))

[mooncake]

these are really helpful replies and great to hear no regrets from those who have tried it. I'm going to check out the suggestions and hopefully talk hubby round! thanks everyone :)

[Mrs Nicklin]

Just walked in the door from a 1 day course with Judith Flood at St Thomas's. I say go for it and if you can, do a course with her!

There's nothing weirdy beardy about it at all. It's about releasing fear which equals a calmer, less painful delivery. She de-Americanises the Mongan method and makes it relevant to the UK to.

I am so relaxed right now... :)

[Sanne Panne]

I read a couple of hypnobirthing books and never fully "connected" to the idea of going into a self induced trance but it did help me become deeply (and not just scientifically, also emotionally) convinced that birth is a normal, natural process, with every contraction being highly functional etc. You know it, but you need to really believe it too. I liked the Gowri Motha book a lot, some parts of it really hit home in spite of the fact that I decided to just "scan" most of the homeopathy pages as I wasn't prepared to go "alternative" all the way.

The books gave me enough confidence to enter labour without debilitating stress and I'm still convinced that the no-nonsense animal attitude (plus a lot of luck) helped me have the two easy home births that I had. I think our birth experience is part physiological luck, part attitude. And if you don't have the physiological luck, I'm sure the positive attitude can tremendously help us deal with the circumstances (e.g. very long labour, emergency caesarian etc) much better.

Just my highly subjective view though!

[EDMumof2]

Couldn't agree more with sanne panne. I wasn't up for the total hippie hypno thing and I couldn't afford the classes anyway, but the book did give me the most incredible confidence that the birth was going to go well and my body was perfectly designed to handle it. So much of the pain of birth is actually deeply ingrained fear from years of hearing that it's horrendous, when actually if you really believe it's what your body was intended to do, you feel much calmer about it and can therefore cope with the pain. I gave birth to a 9lb 8oz baby boy at home with no pain relief after reading the hypnobirthday book and using some of the imagery it suggests. This was after my first birth at Kings, when I didn't know about Hypnbirthing, which ended up in screaming in pain, vomiting, complete panic, an epidural and nearly a forceps delivery. Give it a go!

[goldielab]

One of my good friends is a trained hpynobirth tutor/teacher (not sure of correct term?) and used me as one of her first clients whilst she was qualifying.

My husband was VERY sceptical at first and was insistent that I should give birth at hospital with all the equipment etc nearby in case of emergency. After the first session (which is basically about why we should not be scared of giving birth, that it is natural and part of pregnancy etc and that most of our fear comes from what we are indoctrinated to believe/worry about) he was a convert!

I agree with some of the comments above that it takes a lot of practice to get the relaxation technique right and that it is good to do more than read the book so that it is tailored to you.

Cutting a long story short, I gave birth at home. Only pain relief was gas and air (and the warm water of the birthing pool) and I felt hypnobirthing worked really well for me. I didn't achieve a completely trance-like state as my friend had in her birth... mainly due to my husband talking constantly and asking the midwife if he could get her a cup of tea/slice of toast etc!! But the relaxation and visualisation techniques were fab and for a first labour it was pretty quick, around 8hours (which in itself means fewer hours of "intensity" [Hypnobirthing lingo rather than pain]).

It is best to start about 5/6months in to give yourself time to learn and practice.

S

[mooncake]

hi goldielab,

thanks for sharing your experience. is your friend based anywhere near east dulwich / be willing to run courses in the area? there are a few of us in the winter babies club looking for a practitioner.

thanks!